Ward 6 Ald. Cory Jobe on Wednesday called on Springfield Mayor Mike Houston to shut down and condemn the embattled Bel-Aire Motel, something Houston said the city can't legally do.

The residential hotel on South Sixth Street has accumulated numerous building-code violations, which continue to pile up. Jobe, in a news release, said the motel should be shut down within 10 business days. If that doesn't happen, he'll pursue an ordinance to condemn the property at the next city council meeting, slated for July 15.

But the city is already in court with the Bel-Aire owner for thousands of dollars in fines he owes the city, Houston said.

“We can do what we can legally do,” Houston said in a phone interview. “We do not have the ability to simply shut it down. ... From a legal perspective, I know of no way that can happen.”

Houston added it was “dangerous” for a public official to be speaking along those lines when the city doesn't have legal recourse to shut down the motel.

Corporation Counsel Todd Greenburg, the city's top attorney, echoed the mayor's assessment of the legality of the situation. If the violations at the property rose to a life-threatening level, such as serious structural issues, the city would be able to act more quickly, he said.

But even so, in the state of Illinois, a governmental body can't “just go in and evict people without a court order. Period,” Greenburg said, adding that the city is proceeding with the Bel-Aire as fast as it legally can.

“We can't say, ‘We think the current owner is a slumlord and all of the tenants are out on the street,' ” Greenburg said. “That's not how code violations work.”

Houston, when reached late Wednesday morning, said he hadn't received anything from Jobe on the subject and had learned about his statements through media reports.

“How many more code violations, health and safety violations does this property owner need to rack up before we stop him?” Jobe, who is contemplating a run for mayor next year, said in the news release.

Gopal Motwani, who lives in Florida and has owned the Bel-Aire for years, put up a “must-sell” sign on the property about a month ago, after being cited by the city for another 700 building-code violations that were found in a visit to the property. Even more violations were found in a later visit; city officials are in the process of filing those, Houston said.

As a residential motel, one of the other challenges of shutting the Bel-Aire down is assisting the residents with finding other housing. City officials are working on a contingency plan now that could potentially address that in the future, Houston said.

Page 2 of 2 - Jobe is asking city officials for a report on what steps have been taken thus far to work with the Springfield Housing Authority and state agencies to find housing for the current residents of the Bel-Aire.